Salesperson competitive intelligence and performance: The role of product knowledge and sales force automation usage

This research models and tests the relationship between a salesperson's product knowledge, competitive intelligence behaviors (SCIB), and performance. Moreover, the research examines how a salesperson's use of a sales force automation (SFA) system influences the knowledge–SCIB–performance relationship. Our model and empirical evidence suggest that a salesperson's product knowledge influences performance indirectly through SCIB, and that this indirect influence is moderated by salesperson SFA use. Results show that the indirect positive influence of salesperson product knowledge on salesperson performance through SCIB is attenuated as SFA use increases, and enhanced when SFA use decreases. Theoretical and managerial implications are presented, followed by a discussion of limitations and future research.     

The growing complexity of content delivery networks: Challenges and implications for the Internet ecosystem

Since the commercialization of the Internet, content and related applications, including video streaming, news, advertisements, and social interaction have moved online. It is broadly recognized that the rise of all of these different types of content (static and dynamic, and increasingly multimedia) has been one of the main forces behind the phenomenal growth of the Internet, and its emergence as essential infrastructure for how individuals across the globe gain access to the content sources they want. To accelerate the delivery of diverse content in the Internet and to provide commercial-grade performance for video delivery and the Web, Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) were introduced. This paper describes the current CDN ecosystem and the forces that have driven its evolution. We outline the different CDN architectures and consider their relative strengths and weaknesses. Our analysis highlights the role of location, the growing complexity of the CDN ecosystem, and their relationship to and implications for interconnection markets.